UAL gives its students a ‘Big Welcome’ with creative campaign by Alphabetical

University of the Arts London (UAL) launched its ‘Big Welcome’ campaign ahead of this year’s start of term, with an engaging, digital-first campaign by London brand agency Alphabetical.

Big Welcome is UAL’s annual drive to greet new students from the moment they secure a place at the university. It’s responsible for introducing people to their campuses, offering advice and support, and highlighting key information before they begin their courses.

UAL worked with Alphabetical for this year’s campaign because, in light of the pandemic and its impact on the student experience, the university wanted to do everything it could to bring back the excitement and sense of anticipation and inclusion.

“We didn’t want people to feel like they were missing out on anything. Our approach gives all UAL communications a distinctive look and feel that’s welcoming and fun, focusing on the diverse characters, personalities and interests of UAL students. It connects with the heart of UAL, creating instant brand recognition,” says Bob Young, creative artner at Alphabetical.

“The campaign is fun, poppy and character-led, with unique abstract characters. It works across all digital platforms, which has become increasingly crucial over the past year and a half, but it has the capacity to be rolled out for other environmental communications and promotional merchandise in the future,” Young adds.

Alphabetical worked closely with the UAL community and 3D animator/illustrator Jack Sachs to devise a strategy and creative response that would be universally inclusive, and that would appeal to people attending the various artistic courses. I really wanted to inject a bit of comedy, and in some small way brighten up the experience for freshers, making it less dystopian after such a weird year and a half. It needed to be cheerful and relatable, and by keeping it abstract there can be new cast additions when the need arises,” Sachs says.

“We are an international and very diverse community – this campaign invites everyone to come along for what promises to be a creative, explorative, fun and fulfilling journey,” says Sebastian May, communications manager at UAL.